College Degrees --> Overrated

[MassNole]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

Also there alot of jobs with huge earning potential sales role like financial advisors roles....which dont require a college education.

These jobs require the ability to lie to grandmothers.

Don't forget the pie in the sky direct sales jobs where you can earn over $4000 a month while working 1 hour a week or whatever. Basically they're legalized pyramid schemes, Penn & Teller had a hilarious Bull**** on them.

[mgoblue]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

This is my point to an extent. There are people who are qualified for jobs that have both the intelligence and work ethic to proficiently do a job...sometimes he/she didn't have the $$$ to go to college or was (frankly, like me) too ignorant and moronic to realize the importance of simply "having" a degree. To whomever stated that a degree simply shows that one is intelligent, I disagree with that statement. There are plenty of fools who have a degree...

Honestly, what are jobs which require college degrees that a person w/o one couldn't do without proper training (most of which is usually given at hire anyways)?

I know there are plenty of fools with a degree, but they still made it through a nd got the degree. I had a few friends who f'ed around and didn't end up graduating college cause they were loser slackers who didn't want to work...

Like someone else said, the degree requirement weeds out a lot of the slackers and whatnot that would apply otherwise. Doesn't mean you're smart, but you have to have done a little right to actually get the degree, shows some effort and ability.

[Hutton]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

Speedy, the reason that John gets hired instead of Jim is because he's cheaper, most likely. I beat out one of my friends who has much more experience in the field because I was right out of college. I was 20k+ cheaper than my friend was. (He found a job and it's doing well, so it ends happier than I made it sound).

That being said, there are fields in which degrees matter a ton. Then there are some that don't matter at all.

This ^ is the truth in my experience.

A person with more experience will demand a higher wage, regardless if they have a degree or not, because if you can claim 15 years experience & prove your experience in an interview then you will demand a fair salary, but a company can hire some schmuck with a college degree & little/no experience & pay them total crap & get away with it.

I went & got my master's degree in business, yet it doesn't get me a damn cent more than without it. I also completed a key industry certificate (CPIM) which cost me nearly $2000 in class/testing fees & not that many people have, yet my cheap a$$ employer (Walgreens) doesn't recognize it one bit come raise time (got a measly 2.5% increase).

Long story short, I believe that a degree isn't worth anything, other than acting as a stepping stone into the business world. In fact, it's almost like a ticket to get paid less, but you find a job easier.

I've read studies showing that most Master's Degrees don't pay for themselves via the expected salary increases that would come along with obtaining said degree. Unless you work in a field where it's guaranteed (teaching for example).

I basically threw away thousands of dollars (Walgreens paid for a good chunk of my MBA, thank God). It didn't get me jack sh!t come raise time, I got the same exact percentage as the last 2 years.

Needless to say I'm looking for a new employer.

[The GIGGAS]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

Needless to say I'm looking for a new employer.

Good luck man.

[superjames1992]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

Long story short, I believe that a degree isn't worth anything, other than acting as a stepping stone into the business world. In fact, it's almost like a ticket to get paid less, but you find a job easier.

I've read studies showing that most Master's Degrees don't pay for themselves via the expected salary increases that would come along with obtaining said degree. Unless you work in a field where it's guaranteed (teaching for example).

I basically threw away thousands of dollars (Walgreens paid for a good chunk of my MBA, thank God). It didn't get me jack sh!t come raise time, I got the same exact percentage as the last 2 years.

Needless to say I'm looking for a new employer.

From what I've read way too many people got business degrees, MBAs, ect. That field got saturated. But an engineering degree or anything related to the sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Meteorology, ect.) are certainly worth something as getting a degree teaches you the skills that you need to do your job.

[mudman]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

This is my point to an extent. There are people who are qualified for jobs that have both the intelligence and work ethic to proficiently do a job...sometimes he/she didn't have the $$$ to go to college or was (frankly, like me) too ignorant and moronic to realize the importance of simply "having" a degree. To whomever stated that a degree simply shows that one is intelligent, I disagree with that statement. There are plenty of fools who have a degree...

Honestly, what are jobs which require college degrees that a person w/o one couldn't do without proper training (most of which is usually given at hire anyways)?

This really isn't the point, of course there are fools who have a degree. There are fools who have masters degrees. The point is in a random group of 100 people with degrees and a random group of 100 people w/o degrees, there are a lot more fools in the group w/o degrees. Companies don't want to sift through all the non-degree people to find the few that are really intelligent, capable, hardworking, etc. It's just not worth their time and effort to do that.

[Speedy]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

That's a point I never thought about but for those that didn't have the money or just were idiots during his/her teenage years, there is a lot less opportunity than there should be. I'm still to hear an answer to this question:

Honestly, what are jobs which require college degrees that a person w/o one couldn't do without proper training (most of which is usually given at hire anyways)?

[The GIGGAS]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

That's a point I never thought about but for those that didn't have the money or just were idiots during his/her teenage years, there is a lot less opportunity than there should be. I'm still to hear an answer to this question:

Software Engineer. There is NO way you can do that with the training at hire. It would take over 6 months just to get to a level where you could code something simple. Most self-taught programmers are not as good as college-educated programmers.

[deaduck]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

Honestly, what are jobs which require college degrees that a person w/o one couldn't do without proper training (most of which is usually given at hire anyways)?

Well, I'm pretty sure I'd like my doctor(s) to have gone to college.

[Husker_OS]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

A lot of the fields you guys are referring are train on site jobs.


Guys like sj1992 can't do that. He's gotta go college, get his undergrad, then go to graduate school for meteorological sciences to be a certified meteorologist. Same with Giggas who had to go to school and take a lot of classes to give him the knowledge he would need for hist first job. In his field, they expect you to be "trained" in college and be ready to go to work upon graduation.


As for my field, the key to getting a job is having experience. The only way to get the experience is by going to college and getting internships. To get almost ANY internship in college/professional sports is by either being in college or having a college degree. And if you can't get your foot in the door..

[Knight165]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

Software Engineer. There is NO way you can do that with the training at hire. It would take over 6 months just to get to a level where you could code something simple. Most self-taught programmers are not as good as college-educated programmers.

But aren't a lot of these jobs being outsourced to other countries right now?...and they certainly are not getting college degrees to perform these duties there, which kind of makes the importance of the college degree here for that a little moot?

The problem I have with right off saying that college is so important is twofold.
One...the "fluff" courses which have nothing to do with your field of work(intended) and take up a decent amount or curriculum. You're paying for these...and they are nonsense.
Two....there is no doubt that if you are solely looking at pay as your main reason for choosing a vocation, that you could find a job that requires little more than a high school diploma, a good background and a little extra effort.....PLUS going to school causes you to lose at least 5-6 or in some cases even more of earning through the time at school and the monies you will have to pay for said schooling.(sorry...but you must deduct this from your career of earning).
I myself wasted 3 years studying....and THEN starting my own business(that needed zero of my college time) which within the first year earned me nearly as much as I'm earning now. All it took was a little get go and a good work ethic(that I needed to require of myself, since I was the boss). I wound up selling that business less than 10 years later at a price that afforded me my second home(vacation home) with no mortgage and allowed me to pay off my first home in full in the 10 years I owned the business.
No way someone is doing that in 10 years(since they are studying at least 4 of them) in college...then working and paying off school.

Please don't get me wrong though. I'm not saying college is a waste of time. For some vocations it's a must, so obviously if your chosen field of work requires it you must attend. It's just that the earning power of college compared to fields not requiring college was brought up and I think those numbers get a little skewed.
My real point was....high paying blue collar and trade work(that requires little more than an apprentice school, which you attend WHILE you are working at your profession, such as electrician here in N.Y.) is there. It may be limited, but so are the cream of the crop white collars that will get you earning 100 K in a few years...so if it's just the money....
do a little research.....find a field.. and get.....EARNIN'!

M.K.
Knight165

[mgoblue]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

But aren't a lot of these jobs being outsourced to other countries right now?...and they certainly are not getting college degrees to perform these duties there, which kind of makes the importance of the college degree here for that a little moot?

The problem I have with right off saying that college is so important is twofold.
One...the "fluff" courses which have nothing to do with your field of work(intended) and take up a decent amount or curriculum. You're paying for these...and they are nonsense.
Two....there is no doubt that if you are solely looking at pay as your main reason for choosing a vocation, that you could find a job that requires little more than a high school diploma, a good background and a little extra effort.....PLUS going to school causes you to lose at least 5-6 or in some cases even more of earning through the time at school and the monies you will have to pay for said schooling.(sorry...but you must deduct this from your career of earning).
I myself wasted 3 years studying....and THEN starting my own business(that needed zero of my college time) which within the first year earned me nearly as much as I'm earning now. All it took was a little get go and a good work ethic(that I needed to require of myself, since I was the boss). I wound up selling that business less than 10 years later at a price that afforded me my second home(vacation home) with no mortgage and allowed me to pay off my first home in full in the 10 years I owned the business.
No way someone is doing that in 10 years(since they are studying at least 4 of them) in college...then working and paying off school.

Please don't get me wrong though. I'm not saying college is a waste of time. For some vocations it's a must, so obviously if your chosen field of work requires it you must attend. It's just that the earning power of college compared to fields not requiring college was brought up and I think those numbers get a little skewed.
My real point was....high paying blue collar and trade work(that requires little more than an apprentice school, which you attend WHILE you are working at your profession, such as electrician here in N.Y.) is there. It may be limited, but so are the cream of the crop white collars that will get you earning 100 K in a few years...so if it's just the money....
do a little research.....find a field.. and get.....EARNIN'!

M.K.
Knight165

They still have to get degrees and education to do the outsourcing programming...It's not like they can take any schmuck off the street and they instantly understand the logic of programming and know the syntax of languages.

Also, the "fluff" is there in colleges to make people more well rounded individuals.

I totally agree that the blue collar/trade jobs are there...I just don't think that the investment of college is a waste...yeah, I lost some earning years, but now I make quite a bit more than I would without a degree (and I'd also be doing something I didn't enjoy). Trade work can be feast or famine too...i know a few guys who build new houses or do tile work and whatnot, and the economy's been killing them. For me, there'll always be a need for web/ecommerce/etc type programming.

It's all about finding a field you enjoy and can be profitable in...My point is that times have changed and it's not like you can just start working at a factory and 40 years later be a senior VP like you could in the 50's.

[The GIGGAS]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

Just because software engineering is being outsourced says nothing about the difficulty of software engineering. There are colleges/universities in India and other places churning out degrees for programmers. Sadly, the outsourced code is shoddy at best.

I'm not going to talk about blue collar jobs, because I don't know them. But I know that you're generally far more effective as a Software Engineer with a degree than without.

[mudman]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

I'm still to hear an answer to this question:

Honestly, what are jobs which require college degrees that a person w/o one couldn't do without proper training (most of which is usually given at hire anyways)?

Fine, here's your answer and this is just off the top of my head.

Doctors, lawyers, every single job that requires a science degree (biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, mathematics, engineering, etc), nursing and other health professions, economists, accountants, this list could go on and on.

and that's just me thinking about it for 30 seconds.

Seriously, how do people not see the advantages of college for the vast majority of people given the amount of uneducated people out there who are a complete drain on society? It's not an accident that college graduates, on average, earn a ton more throughout their lifetimes.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: College Degrees --> Overrated

hmmmmmmmm yeah.........

1. Doctors
2. Lawyers
3. Engineers


Those 3 fields definitely need a degree to get hired. But over all one shouldn't stress out over whether or not if you should go to college or not. It really boils down to what you want to do in life and what you are naturally good at.

Because in the end....all the degrees in the world can't make you happy if you stuck at a job that you don't enjoy doing. I know people with double PHD's, had really high paying jobs, but their heart wasn't in it and they quit and start working at places that only require a GED. But hey they were happy.

Some people IMO only pursue PHD's and Master degrees, go to med school or law school because their parents force it on them. Or they cave under pressure of society and the media saying in order to be successful, have the finer things in life, you got to be a Dr or lawyer.

When in reality, that is something that don't want to be, but just do it. I myself been there and done that.. Went to med school, heart wasn't in it and decided to do something I like doing instead, which is techie stuff and not surgery stuff.